house speaker john boehner has urged the president to compromise. >> our members believe strongly that raising tax rates will hurt the economy. now we need a response from the white house. >> unless the two sides reach an agreement by the end of this year, the automatic tax increases and spending cuts will take effect in the new year. >>> time to get a check on the markets now. the nikkei here in tokyo rose above the key 9,500 level as concerns about the u.s. economy eased. the nikkei index right now trading at 9521, a gain of over .5% from wednesday's close. traders said positive remarks about a fiscal cliff deal by president obama are aiding share prices. i guess port-related issues are leading the gains as the weakening trend of the yen is continuing. so let's take a look at the currency markets. the dollar is higher against the yen. that's on better than expected nonmanufacturing data out of the u.s. 82.40-43. euro/yen, that's in the mid 107 yen levels this thursday morning. taking a look at other markets in the asia-pacific, south korea's companiespy is 1949. let's take a look at